Beth Shan

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Beth Shan is one of the larger examples of a first century Polis (Greek word for city), in the Land of Israel.  Although many discuss the Deca Polis (ten Roman cities) the establishment of the coalition came after the time fo Christ.  This would be like Americans discussing the Los Angelos Dodgers when they were still in NYC at the turn of the 20th century.  This is the finest example of a Roman city in the land and is the stop of most tours to help people grasp the fact that life in Biblical Israel was not a rural experience by had much of the designs of today with malls, markets, and metropolis living.  We learn of this city as the place where Saul and his son's bodies were hung after dying on Mt. Gilboa (2 Samuel 21:12).  The city is ancient and predates Israel occupation.  It sits strategically between two joining valleys (Jordan rift valley and the Herod valley entering the Jezreel).  It has always served as a strategic military position to control the flow of traffic and serve for significant tax revenue for anyone moving about or through the land of ancient Israel.  

 

 

Jericho:

 

Jericho is one of the oldest cities in the world.  The city is an oasis with a spring in the center.  We read of its famous destruction in the book of Joshua(Joshua 5:13-6:27).  We also know of its spring being transformed by the miraculous cleansing by Elisha (2 Kings 2:18-22).  Joshua pronounced a curse on any man who attempted to rebuild it will pay for it with the death of their first and last born (Joshua 6:26).  This was seen fulfilled by Hiel of Bethel in 1 Kings 16:34.  It was at Jericho Jesus heals a blind man in this city (Mark 10:46-52), and eats with the tax collector Zaccheus (Luke 19:1-10). 

 

One of the first archaeologists to excavate the ancient tel was Dr. John Garstang in 1930.  His conclusions provoked him to claim biblical Jericho was discovered.  In 1957 Kathleen Kenyon, another archaeologist excavated the site further and concluded the opposite of John Garstang.  Much of archaeology is reverse engineering of evidence accidentally left behind.  The Biblical account of Joshua states the "wall" fell down after seven days of circling in silence.  The cities defenses were a stone retaining wall with Mud Bricks above.  The collapse of the mud bricks provided a perfect ramp for the Israelites.  According to the scriptures, the Israelites were instructed not to take anything from the city but to burn it all.  Evidence from this era reveals a severe burn layer and even grain storage destroyed.  Any invading army would have taken the grain and razed the city.  This grain destruction further supports the biblical mandate to destroy it all and not to take anything as plunder.

 

Qumran& The Dead Sea Scrolls:

 

In the 1947 two Bedouin cousins made the greatest archaeological discovery of the 20th century, the Dead Sea Scrolls.  One of the boys threw a stone into a cave and heard the sound of pottery breaking.  This event would lead to a frenzy of discovery that would culminate with the greatest Biblical discovery of the last century.  Qumran and surrounding caves have yielded every book of the Old Testament with the exception of Esther.  We also have Extra-biblical writings from the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha.  The largest scroll discovery were writings of the community.  A Manual of Discipline, an Apocalyptic writing called the "War Scroll" and writings like the "Damascus Document" and the "Temple Scroll" are a few of the many unique writings giving insight to this monastic sect of isolated apocalyptic Jews.  Famous Archaeologists and Scholars who have handled the ruins and scrolls are men like Yigal Yadin, Father Roland De Vaux, James Charlesworth and More.  The scrolls currently reside in Jerusalem at the Israeli Museums "Shrine of the Book."  Its current curator is Adolfo Roitman Ph.D.  Although not all the scrolls are in Israel's possession, the majority are.

 

The Qumran Community was a group of Jews known as Essenes.  Although everyone at Qumran appears to be Esseane, not all Essenes were from Qumran.  The Damascus Document title shows an understanding of life beyond the caves.  Josephus records one such Essene gaining the respect of Herod because he prophesied accurately (War 1.78-80; Ant 13.311-13).   This shows they were not contained in the community alone but were a sect of Jewish thought possibly throughout Israel (and possibly beyond the country seen in the title "Damascus Document").  They were waiting for an apocalyptic war between the sons of light and the sons of darkness.  They sat under the wisdom of their sage "The Teacher of Righteousness" and immersed themselves in ritual baptism tanks called Mikvahs multiple times day.

 

There was a division between those in charge of the Temple and this communities leader/founder, the "Teacher of Righteousness".  Because of their separation from the cultic center of the temple they redefined atonement and paths to holiness through non-sacrificial means such as prayer: 

 

1QS IX 4-5 When these exist in Israel in accordance with these rules in order to establish the spirit of holiness in truth

4 eternal, in order to atone for the guilt of iniquity and for the unfaithfulness of sin, and for approval for the earth, without the flesh of burnt offerings and without the fats of sacrifice—the offering of the lips in compliance with the decree will be like the pleasant aroma of justice and the perfectness of behaviour will be acceptable like a freewill offering 

 

Although many Christians debate Jewish thought of salvation without a blood sacrifice, they were as comfortable with it as believers in Christ are with the atoning work of the cross.  In Israel, before the new year, a ritual exists called the "days of awe".  People take the ten days before the new year and seek forgiveness with each other over the offenses they have given others the past year.  Much like Christians reconciliation based on Matthew 18, they too understand the ability to find atonement with one another based on restitution.  A similar idea was behind their reconciliation with God in light of the absence of temple blood sacrifice that made them comfortable with its absence.

 

Qumran was a messianic and apocalyptic community.  They awaited a coming destruction of the world outside of their community and sought a multiplicity of Messiahs who would lead the way.  They offered salvation, but only to those who entered their community.  One would have to be encamped outside the community on probation for up to two years before being allowed entrance into the group.  Failure to uphold the community standards could result in excommunication forever.  

 

The group sought three Messianic figures: A Priestly Messiah (of Aaron), a Kingly Messiah (of David) and a Prophetic Messiah (of the Spirit).  Below is a sample of several passages referring to these individuals in their writings known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. 

 

Damascus document 12.23-13.1. during the time of ungodliness until the appearance of the Messiahs of Aaron and Israel...

 

Damascus document 14.18-19. This is the exact statement of the ordinances in which they walk until the Messiah of Aaron and Israel appears and expiates their iniquity.

 

Damascus document 19.9-11 Those who heed Him are the poor of the flock; they will be saved at the time of visitation. But others will be delivered up to the sword at the coming of the Messiah of Aaron and Israel. ; similar ideas can be found in 19.33-20.1.]

 

11QMelchizedek — 11Q13 2:16-18 . . . and the messenger is the Messiah of the Spirit 

 

 

The Dead Sea:

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The Dead Sea Is 50 miles long by 10 miles wide.  It is the lowest place on the face of the earth at 1,300' below sea level.  The sea lives up to its name with salt levels 10x greater than the ocean.  The Jordan River, Sea of Galilee and Dead sea run north to south at the bottom of a long canyon rift known as the "Arabah".  This canyon is the longest in the world running from central Africa to northern Lebanon.  This geological fact makes this part of the worlds subject to violent earthquakes seen in scripture (1 Kings 19:11-12; Amos 1:1; Zechariah 14:5;)  The region only receives 2" - 4" rain annually.  Despite this drought, it is constantly receiving water from the flow of the Jordan river.  Its arid hot temperatures through the centuries evaporated the fresh water and left behind massive deposits of salt found under its water and on its shores.   The high sodium levels create a unique phenomena where the water is heavier than your body making people highly buoyant. With dry arid landscape and little to no vegetation is gives an image of desolation and death.  Ezekiel 47 captures this with a supernatural river flowing from the temple to the Dead Sea.  While all rivers grow narrow and shallow the further they flow, this one gets deeper and wider.  It finishes its destination emptying into the sea bringing life, fish and vegetation.  Some believe this is the rational for Qumran establishing its Essenes  community on its shore.   

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En Gedi:
En Gedi is a spring that flows from water deep in the Jerusalem Mountain range that surfaces in the arid region along the Dead Sea.  Her is the place where David hid from Saul in the wilderness (2 Sam. 23:29; 24:1) . Perhaps David's image of Psalm 42 comes from this place "As the deer pants for the water so my soul longs for you."   In the time of Jehoshaphat a land bridge revealed itself and Ammon, Moab and Edom exploited this to gather in En Gedi to possibly follow it to Tekoa, Bethlehem and an eventual assault on Jerusalem itself (2 Chron. 20).

 

Masada:
The 19th Century explorers George Adam Smith described Masada as.. "isolated, precipitous on every side and inaccessible except in two placed, where winding patchers may be followed by men in single file."  Masada is a natural fortress with 1,300 ft. cliffs.  Before Herod the great was king of the Jews, he served Rome as a governor of the area.

 

During the time of the Maccabean reign, Jonathan Hyrcanus I build a fortress atop of Masada.

 

Jewish Wars 7.285 Upon this top of the hill, Jonathan the high priest first of all built a fortress and called it Masada: after which the rebuilding of this place employed the care of King Herod to a great degree; 

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The Parthean's (Persians of the 1st century b.c.) invaded the land in the early 1st century B.C. when Herod was a young soldier.  He fled for his life.  Near Bethlehem he was overtaken and nearly died.  He later would build a fortress in this area called Herodium:
 

Jewish Wars 1.265 Nay, he found by experience that the Jews fell more heavily upon him than did the Parthians, and created him troubles perpetually, and this ever since he was gotten about eight miles from the city; these sometimes brought it to a sort of a regular battle. Now, in the place where Herod beat them, and killed a great number of them, there he afterward built a citadel, in memory of the great actions he did there, and adorned it with the most costly palaces, and erected very strong fortifications, and called it, from his own name, Herodium.  

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It would become the final resting place for him according to archeologist Ehud Netzer Ph.D.  Herod continued east and put his family atop of the natural cliff mountain Masada.  He continued to Egypt, then Rome and was established "King of the Jews" by Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony.  He ruturned with the full force of Rome and became the King of Israel under the Empire.  To ensure his safety the king established palace fortresses throughout the land.  Masada was one of the most magnificent with his palace on the northern end of the mountain.
 

In 70 A.D. the great revolt was under siege by Rome.  A hand full of revolutionaries held out 1,000 men woman and children strong on top of the mountain fortress.  It took Rome one year to build a siege ramp to assail and prevail.  According to Josephus they were met with silence having committed suicide.  Some archaeologists such as Moti Aviam note there is evidence there was a later struggle.  Regardless, it appears the lots of names were found in the Synagoge atop the fortress.  Here are toe words of the revolutionary leader as recorded by Josephus in Jewish Wars 7.323, 396

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Jewish Wars 7.323, 396 `Since we, long ago, my generous friends, resolved never to be servants to the Romans, nor to any other than to God himself, who alone is the true and just Lord of mankind, the time is now come that obliges us to make that resolution true in practice.  and when these ten had, without fear, slain them all, they made the same rule for casting lots for themselves, that he whose lot it was, should first kill the other nine, and, after all, should kill himself. Accordingly, all these had courage sufficient to be no way behind one another in doing or suffering; 

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